The Manchester Studies interviews at Tameside Local Studies Centre
The Tameside Local Studies Centre in Ashton-under-Lyne holds 114 tapes of interviews of volunteers for the International Brigades and people involved in the aid-Spain movement. There are 63 individual interviewees (94 interview in total), plus three groups described either as International Brigades (3), Conference (1) or Loughborough Conference (16). The number of tapes for each group is shown in brackets. Around half of the interviews have been transcribed.
The interviews are held on old-fashioned reel-to-reel tapes. Each tape side is around 45 minutes long. Interviews appear to be mainly one or two sides in length. Some interviews consist of two or three tapes. Most interviews appear to have been undertaken during the early to late 1970s (see note at end of respondent list). A number duplicate much of the material held in the interviews in The Imperial War Museum in London.
Bold = transcript available. Bold/Italic = part transcript
RESPONDENT TAPE NUMBER/S COMMENTS
Alexander, Bill 198, 229
Anderson, Ely 175
Black, Nellie & Wild, Sam Number currently unknown
Bobker, Millie 763 Manchester Jewish Communist
Bobker Martin 185 Manchester member of YCL involved in Aid-Spain campaigns
Booth, Elsie Number currently unknown. Appears within 215
Booth, Syd 200
Brown, Isobel 176, 233 233 is a joint discussion introduced by Isobel Brown
Brown, James 205
Buckoke, Lillian (nee Walker & Urmston) 203, 215
Charlsworth, Albert 194
Cole, Albert 212 Includes comments from Bob Cooney
Coleman, Julian 172
Conference Tape 236
Cooney, Bob 179, 221, 228 (228 includes John Peet). 179 concentrates almost entirely on the pre-Spain years
Copeman, Fred 213
Curry, Patricia 184
Davidson, Josh 193 Second tape missing, though interview seems mostly intact
Doyle, Bob 204
Drever, George 187
Edwards, Jack 171
Fanning, Tonmy 183
Feeley, Bill 191, 233 191 includes interjections from Bob Cooney
Ferguson, Alex 239
Fraser, Harry 207, 241
Freeman, Edith & Booth, Elsie 215
Goodman, Benny 174
Goodman, David 199
Graham, Frank 189
Green, Nan 180
Hadwin, Tommy 190 Served in Spanish navy
International Brigades 214 (songs), 219 (songs), 220 (group)
Jenkins, Mick 968 Leading CP figure in Manchester
Jones, Jack 209
Kelly, William 238
Kerrigan, Peter 196, 233
Kerrigan, Rose 197, 233
King, Harold 233, 954
Leeson, George 169, 227
Levine, Maurice 186, 218
Levitas, Maurice 955
Loughborough Conference 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 231, 232, 233*, 234, 235, 236
McCartney, Garry 168, 223 (Scottish)
McClean, Tony 206, 224, 226, 232
McKenna, Bernard (No tape number available) Transcript available, no.1200
Mallinson, N. S. 195 (Spanish Aid)
Marcowich, Alec 182
Mayo, William 210 Friend of Clem Beckett
Mendelson, Maurice 167 Spanish aid
Murphy, Tom 242, 243, 244 244 is a copy of 242
Nicholl, Arthur 230, 956
Norman, Joe 201
Peet, John 188
Preger, Leslie 166
Quinn, Syd 202
Sandford, Winifred 192 (Medical mission in Spain)
Saville, John 234, 235 Both interviews in Spanish, recorded at Loughborough
Selby, Felix 177
Slater, Mary 181, 233 (photo available)
Tunnah, John 208
Unsworth, Lilian 215
Walker, Robert 240
Whitehead, Mary 211 Clem Beckett’s sister
Wild, Bessie 450, 608, 609, 610, 803, 932, 233
Wild, Sam 178, 216, 217, 218, 222
Yates, James 170
Yarwood, Elizabeth 767 (Spanish Aid)
N.B.
Many of these interviews were undertaken by Dave Corkill and Stuart Rawnsley for their 1981 book The Road to Spain, for which they included brief excerpts from the interviews of the following volunteers:
Maurice Levine, Sam Wild, Leslie Preger, Frank Graham, Albert Charlesworth, Jim Brown, Peter Kerrigan, Nan Green, George Leeson, Gary McCartney, David Goodman, John Peet, Bob Cooney, Lilian Urmston, Jack Jones, Bob Doyle and Josh Davidson.
Index of Manchester Studies tapes complied by Chris Hall and Simon Hawkesworth, February 2010.